


In the rain

by fuchsverse



Category: Shaman King (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Dorks in Love, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt No Comfort, I'm sorry okay, Idiots in Love, Jun was always Run is German ... so... it's Run in that OS, M/M, and don't forget the major character death, lol, old but gold or something like that, orz, shaman fight, this is so much fluff and dorkiness I need to through up, tragic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:22:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29286741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuchsverse/pseuds/fuchsverse
Summary: A tear dripped from her chin and splashed directly into the water glass... [Horohoro x Ren | 2010].
Relationships: Tao Ren & Usui Horokeu | "Trey Racer' Horohoro, Tao Ren/Usui Horokeu | "Trey Racer" Horohoro
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	In the rain

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Im Regen.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29286345) by [fuchsverse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuchsverse/pseuds/fuchsverse). 



> Info: This short story was written in 2010 and is therefore a little older. I'm not really happy with the writing style any more, but I didn't really want to change anything, since I wrote it then and just expressed myself that way three years ago. Thank you for your attention.
> 
> IMPORTANT: Jun was always Run in German ... so... it's Run in that OS

**In the rain**

_Slowly, with the last of his strength, his hand, which was growing cold, rested on Horo's cheek. Tao smiled mockingly, "You're not worried, are you? ...“_   
_The shaman could speak no further as another gush of blood escaped his mouth. Miserably, he coughed._   
_"Don't leave me..." whimpered Usui, pressing Ren's hand to his cheek._   
_"Tz...," the shaman closed his eyes, "Don't worry about me... Such a small injury can't hurt me at all..."_   
_Horohoro did not let go of his hand...._

With the last of his strength he kept on his feet, had lowered his head so that no one could see the tears. He would have liked to scream, scream to give vent to his grief, scream to express his hatred....  
Someday he would find his killers, challenge them and defeat them!  
Usui flinched as a delicate hand came to rest on his shoulder.  
 _Run..._  
Carefully, he lifted his head and looked into her tear-stained face. It stung him to see Tao like that, it had been his job to protect her brother. He should be lying there now, not Ren.  
 _Not him..._  
Run wrapped her arms around Horohoro and rested her head on his shoulder. A violent twitch ran through her body and choking sounds came from her throat. Gently he put his arms around her.  
He too was crying. Silent tears ran down his cheek and moistened Run's black dress. Her fingers clawed into his jacket and her hot breath tickled his neck.  
After what seemed an eternity, she released herself from him and looked at the shaman in front of her.  
"I'm sorry..." she sobbed and turned around.  
Bailong supported Tao and nodded to Usui. Horo nodded politely and then looked back at the grave. He just couldn't leave. Couldn't leave him here alone ...  
One by one, Yo, Anna, Manta and the others came to comfort him, but all that didn't help. How could it, Ren wouldn't come back....  
 _You said you would always stay with me...._

When all the others had gone, he gave free rein to his grief. Unable to stay on his feet any longer, he collapsed. A soft pattering filled the air and shortly afterwards the first drop fell on the shaman's nose. His tears flowed incessantly down his face, mingling with the rain....  
  
He couldn't just go like the others ...  
Back to his normal life ...  
He just couldn't. Now that the most important thing in his life had disappeared, there was no point to it all. Yo and the others had lost a good friend, but he... he had lost much more...  
_  
_***

_Horohoro wiped the sweat from his forehead. The heat in the desert was really unbearable, he wanted to get back to some restaurant with air conditioning as soon as possible. Completely exhausted, he dropped into the sand and looked at Ren and Chocolove. The two were training tirelessly, especially Ren was unstoppable. But that was nothing unusual. Tao had always been someone who wanted to be better than everyone else._  
 _"Hey guys... how long...", when Horohoro noticed that no one was listening to him, he stopped._  
 _Maybe he should just leave, they would notice when he was gone. Quickly, the shaman stood up and brushed the sand off his trousers._  
 _Once more he looked at his friends, then he turned and walked back towards Dobie Village. Maybe he would meet Yo or one of the others. He had to grin when he thought of his friends. No, he would definitely not meet them. Anna was probably giving them a hard time right now because they had sneaked some burgers from the Patch Café last night._  
 _When Horohoro arrived at his destination, he saw Run and Bailong sitting alone at a table. Apparently she hadn't gone shopping with Tamao and Pilika after all._  
 _"Hey Run!", Usui grinned as he sat down opposite Ren's sister._  
 _"Hey...", the green-haired girl murmured, looking into her half-full water glass, lost in thought._  
 _Horohoro looked at her closely, something wasn't right here. Run was not the kind of person to mope. She was always worried about Ren, but still she was in a good mood and laughing._  
 _"Shouldn't you be at training?" she said, looking her counterpart in the eye._  
 _"Huh. Well, you know, it's been so warm and all. Besides, we've already done a lot of training today. But Ren is unstoppable as usual!", Usui joked, but Run remained serious._  
 _Immediately he stopped laughing, what was going on today?_  
 _"Ren will give you a hard time!" she only said and sipped her water._  
 _"So what? It's not like I'm his lapdog, I can handle it!" grumbled Horo, looking out the window with disinterest._  
 _"Don't always be so careless, you don't know who your next opponent will be!", Run countered bitingly._  
A tear dripped from her chin and splashed straight into the water glass....

***  


His fingers dug into the muddy dirt as the heavy rain poured down on him. His vision was blurred, his body trembled. He should have sensed something. Back then... when Run had acted so strangely. Damn it, he should have known!  
 _I'm sorry..._  
With shaky legs he stood up and stepped closer to the grave. Sliding his hand over it, he moved away again. Horohoro took a deep breath as he left the cemetery behind.  
Slowly, he made his way to Yo's house, where he was currently staying. He would not be able to stay there for long, too much reminded him of their time together. He and Ren had fought most of the time, rarely made up, and yet they just couldn't do without each other. He hadn't been able to categorise his feelings then, hadn't wanted to be able to. He had just been stupid, too stupid to understand what connected them. Now he understood, but now it was also too late....  
  
His legs simply carried him through the city, without Horohoro paying attention to the traffic. Many umbrellas came towards him and some people looked at him strangely because he was walking so wet through the streets. They should stare and think what they wanted, he didn't care. He was forced to stop at a red light and looked up at the sky....  
 _It had been raining then too...._  
  
***

_Horo looked up at the ceiling of the small room, annoyed. Next to him, Chocolove snored and Ren, as usual, made no sound. Outside, rain fell, lightning lit up the sky and thunder rumbled through the night. Usui just couldn't find any peace, he had been lying awake all night, thinking. Ren had not said a single word about the fact that he had secretly left the training. No, he had not even made a small remark. Slightly, he turned his head to the right and looked at his team partner, who had turned his back on him. His hair was ruffled. During the night, his hair was no longer up. No, now his hair reached his shoulders and nestled against his neck. Horohoro loved it when he wore it like that, even if it was only at night. Usui sighed..._  
What are you doing to me, Ren...?  
  
 _He couldn't explain it, but lately he felt strange around Ren. It just made him happy when he was around or when they agreed for once. Grumbling, he ran a hand through his blue hair and looked to his right again. Somehow he felt the need to run his hand through the hair, but how could he do that? What if Ren woke up?_  
 _He sat up abruptly and tussled his own hair. He shouldn't even be thinking about such a thing! He looked out of the window in despair as a loud thunder sounded. Beside him, Ren flinched and opened his eyes. Horohoro looked at him, he seemed broken and somehow frightened. Tao looked at his friend too and sat up._  
 _His hair was sticking up slightly from his head, making him look rather confused._  
 _"You okay, Ren?" whispered Horo, looking sceptically at the boy sitting next to him._  
 _"Tz, what's not okay? Besides, I should be asking you that, or who's going to lie here awake all night sighing to himself!" he growled, glancing deprecatingly out the window._  
 _Horohoro had to grin, that had betrayed Ren._  
 _"Oh, so that means you can't sleep either?!"_  
 _Ren tensed as another thunder broke the silence that had just been created. Angrily he clenched his hand into a fist, Horo looked at him questioningly. Was he afraid of the thunderstorm? But that couldn't be. Ren wasn't afraid of anything._  
 _"Hey, it's okay. Nothing can happen to you here!" he said calmly and waited for a reaction from Tao._  
 _Ren didn't react and continued to look out of the window. Horohoro remained silent, simply looking at the shaman in front of him. The scar on his slender back that cut through the tattoo. His purple hair as it clung to his skin...._  
 _Usui shook his head and let himself sink back again. He finally had to stop this. Ren was Ren... and... oh what was all the fuss about. Even if he was attracted to him, Tao would never feel that way...._  
 _Again he turned his head as Ren dropped back into the pillows. His purple eyes looking up at the ceiling, he took a deep breath and opened his mouth._  
 _"What's wrong Horo?" he asked._  
 _"Mh... you better tell me what's wrong with you!" the questioned one muttered, averting his gaze._  
 _"What could be wrong..." "You're scared, am I right?!"_  
 _Ren pressed his lips tightly together and looked at his partner, "I'm not afraid of anything or anyone!"_  
 _The blue-haired boy sighed. What had he expected? That Ren would reveal his feelings to him? He was such a fool... after all._

_A while passed in which no one said anything, only Chocolove's snoring and low rumbling filled the room._  
 _"Everyone is afraid of something, it's nothing bad..." whispered Horohoro, looking at Ren._  
 _"Oh shut up!" growled Tao, turning to Horohoro._  
 _Usui had to swallow hard. At that moment, Ren's whole attention was only on him. He looked at him, with those beautiful eyes...._  
 _Horohoro looked away in embarrassment and just snorted. Quickly he turned around and closed his eyes, it probably just wasn't meant to be. Maybe he really should leave him alone for once, Ren didn't want his help after all. He tried to fall asleep desperately, he just wanted to get out of this room. He just couldn't stand it that Tao was so close to him and yet seemed so unreachable. Soon the second round of the competition would be over anyway, then they wouldn't be a team anymore...._  
  
 _"Ever since I was a little kid I've been afraid of thunderstorms, I don't know why, but it's always been like that..." the lila-haired boy whispered after quite a while, pulling the blanket higher._  
 _Horohoro listened, was he really telling him what he was afraid of? ...The shaman remained silent, not wanting to expose himself...._  
 _"Back then, I always went to Run, she was the only one who was there for me."_  
 _Still Usui said nothing to that, what could he?_  
 _"Damn, yes I'm scared Horo!"_  
 _Now the one he was addressing turned around, looking straight into those eyes. He just looked at him, Ren did the same. No one wanted to say anything, to not ruin this moment. He didn't know how his friend would react, but he just had to try. Slowly, Horohoro held out his hand to Ren. For a while he looked at it sceptically._  
 _"Horo...", slowly Tao took the hand offered to him and was immediately drawn to Usui._  
 _"I'm here now...", he murmured as Ren laid his head on his chest._  
 _Carefully, Horohoro stroked his hair and noticed Tao calming down._  
 _"What's this all about?" muttered Ren, closing his eyes._  
 _"I don't know, you tell me...," the blue-haired man smiled lazily, was this all supposed to mean something that...?_  
Yes, that's exactly what it had meant....

***

The traffic lights turned green so that he could now cross the street. Yes, that had been that one night. The night that had changed everything. At least for a short time...  
They had been lying there like that for a long time, no one had said anything, but still they had both been awake. He had just continued to stroke Ren's hair, it had been so soft. He could still remember the smell of him, the slight trembling of his body. He simply remembered everything. And then he had said it...  
 _I love you... Ren_  
Tao had then put a hand on Horohoro's chest and he had also wrapped his other arm around him, everything _had_ been perfect...  
  
And so the two of them had woken up the next morning to a grinning Chocolove. Usui had to smile, Ren had almost stabbed her mate in the nose.  
At the Asakuras' front door, Horohoro stopped, not wanting to meet anyone else. Just wanted to sleep and forget. He just wouldn't bear it, would Ryu come and try to cheer him up....  
Quietly, he sneaked through the house, stopping briefly at each door to make sure no one was there or already asleep.  
Once upstairs in his room, he closed the door and slid down it. Desperately he wrapped his arms around his body and rested his head on his knees. Yes, he had been happier than ever then. For who would have thought that Tao would return his feelings? No one, of course. Ren had always been a lone wolf. Never had he needed anyone, except maybe... Yo....  
Yes Yo and Run had been his caregivers. The ones he had trusted and didn't want to live without.  
Run, his big sister, who had supported and loved him from an early age.  
Yo, his best friend, who had brought him out of the darkness and taught him how to live....  
Those who taught him to love and trust....  
Horohoro often wondered if it wouldn't have been better if Ren hadn't become like this. Then he would still be alive now...  
But then... then they would never have met....  
Never would have laughed together, never would have argued and never would have found each other...  
  
***

_Angry, Tao kept his weapon pointed at Chocolove, who was pressed against the wall, but still grinning._  
 _"What's so funny, you stupid idiot," Ren hissed and was about to attack his mate ..._  
 _Carefully, Horohoro put his hand on Ren's. The boy looked at him angrily, which caused the Usui to grin._  
 _In that one moment, so many emotions flooded his body that he didn't quite know what to do now._  
 _Those eyes that stared at him. So incredibly clear and bright. The purple hair standing slightly away from his head and the warm hand under his own. All this triggered such a strange tingling feeling in him that he lowered his gaze slightly ..._  
 _Slowly Ren lowered his weapon, something prevented him from stabbing the boy in front of him in the nose. He didn't even feel the need to anymore. His anger was... gone. And it had done so the moment he had felt Horohoro's hand on his. He had to swallow hard as he looked into Usui's eyes, never had he felt so at ease._  
 _Chocolove seemed to be forgotten as their eyes met and he felt himself being pulled into Usui's arms. Slowly his fingers disengaged completely from the weapon, it hit the ground with a loud clang and remained there._  
 _"Horo...", Tao murmured and put an arm around that one._  
 _The blue-haired shaman smiled and simply closed his eyes for a brief moment. So many feelings of happiness flooded through him that he had to be careful not to jump around the room like a girl with joy. He felt as if a huge bomb was exploding in his body and it was releasing thousands more butterflies...._  
 _Ren raised his head and again their eyes met._  
Black met violet.  
Violet met black.  
 _And then their lips touched for the first time...._

***

The moon was high in the sky, night had fallen long ago. His face was leaning against the cold window pane, which kept fogging up due to his hot breath. When he closed his eyes, he could see him. His narrow chest and the tattoo on his back. That arrogant look he gave him. The smile on his lips that let Horo know he wasn't serious. His perfect hairstyle.  
He could smell him, could feel him....  
Wet tears ran down his cheek, today was absolutely not his day....  
This funeral had taken away his last nerves and his last bit of self-control....  
He was forced, so to speak, to remember the worst day of his life....  
He saw Ren in front of him, covered in blood, lying in his arms and... smiling at him....  
 _Just a scratch you had said...._  
He never thought it would all end like this. It was just supposed to be another tournament fight.  
 _Just a tournament fight..._  
Enraged, Horohoro clenched his hands into fists, he would find those bastards and drain them of every spark of their pathetic lives! He would make them pay, pay for the pain he had to go through! Atone for the pain Ren had to live through!  
  
***

_No, no this couldn't be...._   
_"Ren!" yelled Horohoro, but it was too late...._   
_Tao went down and remained lying there. Blood poured from his chest. From his mouth._   
_What was that all about? They had lost after all, so why this attack? Without thinking, Usui dropped his weapon and ran to Tao._   
_To his friend..._   
_Hot tears ran down his face, blurred his view and made him stumble. He fell and tore open his knee._   
_Slowly he picked himself up and limped on._   
_"Ren... Ren say something!" he whimpered as he sank to his knees in front of him, "Damn it Ren!"_   
_Frantically he ruffled his hair. Silver went to get a doctor, but it didn't look good. Very carefully he lifted his partner's head and rested it on his lap. Next to him, Chocolove sank to the floor and stared at his mate's body._   
_"Why..." he breathed, glancing at their opponents who were disappearing._   
_Horohoro sniffled and screamed. Screamed out his fear and sadness. Gave vent to his feelings, why... why Ren? Why him? This couldn't be happening... Not now, when they had just found each other... Not now... Not now... Not fucking NOW... NOT NOW!_   
_This just wasn't happening, couldn't happen...._   
_From a distance he heard Run and the others. They shouldn't see him like this..._   
_"Chocolove... they... they should..." the shaman put a hand on his friend's shoulder and stood up._   
_He was the only one who knew what was between Usui and Ren. Was the only one who understood how Horohoro felt. With all his strength, he lifted himself against Run, caught her and pressed her against him. Her tears fell down on him, her screams echoed in his ears, her tight grip took his breath away... But none of that mattered... Didn't matter now...._   
_..._   
_Ren was going to die..._

***

Horohoro looked down at his hands, smelling the blood mixed with Ren's scent. He had died in his arms... Usui had been unable to do anything but watch him and hold his hand.  
 _Don't leave me..._  
Yes, that had been his only wish, a wish he had not been granted... A simple wish....  
With shaky legs he stood up, unable to sit still and just do nothing....  
 _"I will find them... I promise you that... They... They will pay Ren... They will pay for what they have done to you..." ._  
.  
.  
He looked back one last time. He looked at the house he had lived in for so long. But now a new chapter of his life would begin, he would not come back, not until he had found them.  
Slowly he started to move, walking towards the forest and was swallowed by the mist of the night....  
  
 _I love you... Ren..._  


.


End file.
